genealogy and family ties

A View of Crosthwaite UK

thToday I’m thinking of the continuing controversy over immigrant Stricklands of 1679/80 who left England for America (aboard the Herron? the Globe?) and proceeded to populate Maryland and Virginia, Isle of Wight County in particular. Did they hail from the Castle at Sizergh (see banner, above) or from the nearby village of Crosthwaite, often mentioned in the US as Crosthwaite-and-Lyth? And where does Kendal fit in to family histories? You know it’s only a few miles between the villages of the area and the Castle, a fact that is not genealogically definitive and yet…

Well, perhaps it is more to the point to ask: are Knights more noble than ancient farmers of the land? Were such un-Knighted Stricklands the younger sons or nephews of the Castle who may as well have immigrated to the New World in order to find their fortunes? Or were they merely the sons of neighbors who took on the place name of Strickland which means ‘cow pasture’?

Naturally there is no document or church record that can answer such subjective questions!

So of course I then wondered how much the valley had changed (or not!) over hundreds of years, and a mosey over to YouTube turned up a lovely video tour with narrative about the Village of Crosthwaite with its charming streets, damson plums, cows in pasture, rare butterflies and all…hope you enjoy!

“There are two lasting bequests we can give our children: One is roots, the other is wings.” Teaching children values and giving them the opportunity to excel are essential to good parenting. However, I feel I must also provide my children (and myself) insight into the ones who came before us: our ancestors whose lives and stories have shaped us into who we are. This is my journey; these are their stories…